The Cincinnati Reds made news on the sports betting page on Monday as first baseman Joey Votto was named the National League MVP. He won the award easily, getting 31 of 32 first-place votes. The Reds were a major surprise this past season in sports betting and Votto was a big reason why.
Pujols Finishes Second
The two year reign of Albert Pujols as National League MVP is over. Pujols finished second in the voting although he did get the other first place vote. Colorado’s Carlos Gonzalez finished third. Votto received 443 points in the voting while Pujols was second with 279 points. Pujols had won the MVP in 2005 and in 2008 and in 2009.
Votto’s Numbers
There was not much difference between Votto and Pujols in many important numbers. Votto was second in the National League in batting average at .324 and third in home runs with 37 and third in RBIs with 113. Statistics on the sports betting page indicate that he led the National League in slugging percentage (.600) and he was the best in all of baseball in on-base percentage (.424). Pujols batted .312 and he was first in the National League in home runs with 42 and RBIs with 118.
Reds Winning the Difference
The main reason that Votto won the MVP award was that Cincinnati beat St. Louis in the National League Central Division. The Reds made the playoffs while the Cardinals did not and voters gave the edge to Votto and Cincinnati. Votto becomes the 12th Cincinnati player in history to win the MVP award. He joins Joe Morgan and Johnny Bench who won the award twice in addition to Ernie Lombardi, Bucky Walters, Frank McCormick, Frank Robinson, Pete Rose, George Foster and Barry Larkin. The Reds have had 12 players win the MVP which is tied for second with the Giants behind only the St. Louis Cardinals who have 17 MVP awards. The Yankees have the most in baseball with 20.
Colorado’s Carlos Gonzalez led the league in batting at .336 and finished third in MVP voting with 240 points. San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez was fourth followed by Colorado’s Troy Tulowitzki and Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay. The voting for the MVP was completed before the playoffs began.